Keep me reasonably sweet.

 oh gosh, a month went by....

I have long loved this prayer....reposting it from 2009

I have always wanted to share this funny prayer on the blog and don't think I have done so yet.
It is found in Elisabeth Elliot's little book "Gateway to Joy".

It is attributed to a seventeenth-century nun.

Grandma Glyman holding baby Matthew in 1985.  Matthew's middle name is Glyman and it confused the heck out of the older folks.  My middle name comes from Grandma Glyman.  It's Elsie.

Lord, You know better than I know myself that I am getting older and will someday be old. Keep me from... the fatal habit of thinking I must say something in every subject and on every occasion. Release me from craving to straighten out everybody's affairs. Make me thoughtful but not moody, helpful but not bossy. With my vast store of wisdom it seems a pity not to use it all, but You know, Lord, that I want a few friends at the end. Keep my mind from the recital of endless details-give me wings to come to the point. Seal my lips on my aches and pains. They are increasing, and my love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter. I dare not ask for grace enough to enjoy the tales of others' pains, but help me to endure the with patience. I dare not ask for improved memory, but for a growing humility and a lessening cocksureness when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others. Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I will be mistaken. Keep me reasonably sweet. I do not want to be a saint-some of them are so hard to live with-but a sour old woman is one of the crowning works of the devil. Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places, and talents in unexpected people. And give me the grace to tell them so.

I tell you, not talking about physical ailments is very very hard.  I've always been sweet....so maintaining that has been a bit of a challenge lately.  (retired husband and all...haha)

Anyway.  Enjoy the prayer and may it be an encouragement.

Love you. Mean it.  

Donna Elsie 

Moon Rise

Whenever there is news of a big full moon I run around town looking for the best place to see it rise.

Nine times out of ten.  I do not see it.  It's uncanny.  

Our house is surrounded by pine trees.

They make a glorious sound when it is windy.

However they make my sunrise and moonrise viewing

frustrating.

Anyway, I'm not just here to complain.

I want to tell you my sweet delight yesterday upon leaving Physical therapy at ten to five.

I looked to my left to make my right hand turn

and there, rising above our main street was the big beautiful full moon.

I smiled and scanned the horizon the whole way home; Not seeing it most of the time,

but a getting a thrilling glimpse 

every so often.

Most things I can capture satisfactory with my camera,

but not the moon.  

This image is from the lovely picture book, 

Owl Moon by Jane Yolken.

It's the quietest of books you will read.

 

"When you go owling you don’t need words or warm or anything but hope. That’s what Pa says. The kind of hope that flies on silent wings under a shining Owl Moon."

Seeing the moon on my drive home made me feel these kind of feels.

It's just that way for me.

Encourage one another,

Donna

 

I was the youngest kid in my class.

This picture is from Prom, 

Wheaton Central High School.

1974

Sue was a Senior and I was a Junior.

Sue graduated in 1974. Her class just celebrated their 50th high school reunion.

Gosh.  Aren't they old.

ah hem.  My 50th is this year.

But, you know, I was young for my class.

*****

The Folks Inside by Shel Silverstein

Inside you, boy,

There's an old man sleepin',

Dreamin', waitin' for his chance.

Inside you, girl,

There's an old lady dozin',

Wantin' to show you a slower dance.

So keep on playin,

Keep on runnin',

Keep on jumpin', til the day

That those old folks

Down inside you

Wake up....and come out to play.

*****

No one could have explained to me how odd it feels to be in the Betty White,

Aunt Bea era but you still feel like Bewitched or Mindy.

 (Mork and Mindy that is)

When I sent out Christmas cards this year, I actually thought,

people are not going to know who the heck I am.

(you know, the hair)

Life is funny and weird and I'm suppose to be thankful to be alive.

Which I am.

But it's still weird to be...elderly.

Never forget.

I was the youngest kid in my class, the class of 1975.

And the middle child.

There's that too.

ha

Love ya.

Mean it.

Aging quizzically,

Donna Elsie

PS.  Ages of the sisters in the picture

Nancy (21), Sue (17), Cindy (13), Donna (16)

Janice and Janet (8)

 

It is enough. Afterall.

1 Corinthians 13:13

But now faith, hope, and love remain, these three:

but the greatest of these is love.

*******

Thank you friend.

2025 will be a year of healing.

Mind, body and spirit.

*****

What more could anyone ask for?  

If you have one such friend. 

You are blessed.

I am blessed.

In searching my photos,

I found some gems.....

I'm all over the place today.

Happy NEW Year to YOU!

Love you.

Mean it!

Encourage one another...you are so good at it!

Donna

 

Skating with Harley and Katie's birthday.

The Ghosts of Winter Past


Once upon a time I lived in hilly, pine tree covered Wausau, Wisconsin.
Every day at noon I would head over to the ice rink at the fair grounds to skate.
Typically four or five skaters would be there; a mother and a child, a young man skating figures, an elderly gentleman and me.

The young man showed me how to skate a figure eight. I learned to use the edges on my skates.
Harley, the elderly man, taught me to skate the waltz. The waltz is skated much faster than you would imagine and very close to your partner.

Stroke, swing, inside edge, loop.
Stroke, turn, outside edge, glide.

I was nervous and scared and worked very hard to keep up with Harley's speed and steps.

I loved it so much.

It was possibly the coolest thing I have ever done.

(post from quiet life 2005)

Did you know my blog is twenty years old?

My first profile picture.

Christmas pictures thru the years.....

Katie turns twenty-five tomorrow.

She was four when I started blogging.

We continue to  enjoy one another's company and make one another giggle.

She and her boyfriend will come over for chicken and dumplings tomorrow.

We might put together a puzzle and make the last of the rolo turtles.

We will live that quiet life when we are not laughing out loud.

Happy birthday honey.

I love you.

Mom

December: All Bundled Up

Welcome December!

With such a late Thanksgiving, December took us by surprise.

Well.  Me at least! heh.

December

by John Updike

First snow! The flakes,

So few, so light,

Remake the world

In solid white.

All bundled up,

We feel as if

We were fat penguins,

Warm and stiff.

The toy-packed shops

Half split their sides,

And Mother brings home

things she hides.

Old carols peal.

The dusk is dense

There is a mood

Of sweet suspense.

The shepherds wait,

The kings, the tree

All wait for something

Yet to be.

Some miracle.

And then it's here,

Wrapped up in hope-

Another year!

******

December memories....

Last year Katie and Karen decorated for me.  I think I really liked that tradition!!!

I am slowly switching the decorations over from fall to winter.  Slowly.

Yoohoo.  Katie and Karen!!!

Encourage One Another,

Donna

Constants

Happy one year anniversary!

Lumpectomy done. check.

As you can see I was loved and supported by my lovely family.

Cindy came to the hospital and was there for me and Patrick.

The above picture is from the day after my surgery.  You can see I was feeling just fine.

For me surgery is no big deal. 

Wound care (bad care)

Chemo side effects.

ER visits.

Big deal.

I did have great results from my surgery so for that I am very grateful.

(Clear margins and no cancer in lymph nodes)

But most of all I think of all my loved ones.

My constants.

And I feel so very thankful and blessed.

Love you. Mean it.

Donna Elsie

*******

Still Here

been scared and battered.

My hopes the wind done scattered.

Snow has friz me,

Sun has baked me,

Looks like between 'em they done

Tried to make me

Stop laughin', stop lovin', stop livin'--

But I don't care!

I'm still here! 

~Langston Hughes

 

hair growth after chemo. month eight

 

I once ran a brush through my hair and I couldn't believe it!

This is what my hair looked like. And while I love Prue and think she looks great...

she is 84 after all.

I'm not ready to look 20 years older than I am.

Chemo curls are VERY common.

They go every which way.

I bought a product called Love ur Curls.

This helps my hair not be so bouffant.

Just making a record here.

I imagine next month to be about the same.

We shall see.

My son Patrick said,

"How often do you get to grow a totally new hair style?"

My son, who is not an encourager in general, really encouraged me.

So there you have month eight, chemo grow out.

A few more days and I will celebrate the lumpectomy anniversary.

What a year.  What a year.

Encourage one another,

Donna

November comes

 November

The stripped and shapely

Maple grieves

The ghosts of her

Departed leaves.

The ground is hard,

As hard as stone.

The year is old,

The birds have flown.

And yet the world,

In its distress,

Displays a certain 

Loveiness--

The beauty of 

The bone.  Tall God

Must see our souls

This way, and nod.

Give thanks: we do,

Each in his place

Around the table

During grace.

 by John Updike

I find this poem to be so beautiful and surprisingly profound for a children's poem.

Don't You?

***

Indian Summer came and went. 

The gusty winds finally blew the leaves from the trees.  

The Spring training, that had begun so long ago had ended, and summer ball had taken its place,

and a fall, and Shohei Ohtani had won a World Series.

Congrats Dodgers

Congrats Shohei.

Thanks for a wonderful season!

Encourage one another,

Donna

HT:Harper Lee